A Little Background: Greece and Animal Welfare

This puppy was found wandering alone at the beach.   She was very thiin and covered in mange and fleas.

Greece, an E.U. country, has clear set animal welfare legislation. Law 4039/2012 applies to pets and strays, where by acts of cruelty are punishable with 6 months imprisonment or a fine of between 300 – 30 000 Euros or the imposition of both penalties. These sentences, however, are rarely enforced and animal cruelty and neglect is a common phenomenon. 

     

This stray was hit by a car and left on the side of the road with a severed spine.

The reasons for the large population of strays and the prevalence of cruelty and neglect, as I see them, are three fold.  Firstly, there is no animal policing body like a Human Society or an SPCA and it is left up to the police to enforce animal welfare laws. The police tend to be indifferent; they are untrained for such circumstances and they have enough difficulty enforcing human related legislation.  Secondly, there is, generally, a high level of tolerance for animal cruelty among a large population of people and others are not aware of the legislation or their rights with regards to these matters if they do see something that requires attention. Acts of cruelty include dog hangings, massive dog poisonings to "control" the stray population, dog shootings, hit and runs with vehicles in which the animal is left to die or is maimed and left to heal on its own, dog beatings, dogs become targets for sick individuals who perform torturous acts upon them, and the list goes on. The third and last reason is the lack of awareness and the lightness with which people view the responsibility of having a companion animal. Some may bring a dog home for their child to play with and once they realize the dog is more than a toy it is abandoned.  Many dog owners overlook the spaying or neutering of their pets which results in unwanted litters. These litters may be killed as soon as they are born or they wait for the puppies to be weaned so that the mother can release her milk, then the puppies are simply abandoned to fend for themselves.

Abandoned puppy.  A car drove over his paw. The driver did not stop despite the puppy's cries.

Besides the cruelty described above, I have to mention the barrel dogs in rural areas that are considered “work" animals.  These dogs lead a miserable life. They are seen all over rural Greece tied to a tree, a fence post, farm equipment, living in chicken coops where their barks are used as a "warning" signal. They are usually on short chains and have a metal barrel tipped on its side or a make shift box as a home. These conditions are highly tolerated by a large number of Greek people who simply accept them as part of everyday life. Please visit my previous post, Chains of Burden for more information. http://forthestrays.blogspot.gr/2014/01/chains-of-burden.html

      

   Under the above stated law, pet owners were to have their pets registered and municipalities were made responsible for the stray population of dogs under their jurisdiction where shelters had to be established, veterinarians present, stray animals collected, vaccinated, sterilized and when applicable returned to where they were found and not culled or euthanized, without just cause (i.e. in cases of suffering and unmanageable illness). This couldn't be further from the truth!!  There is next to no example of that which is stated here being enforced and there are few examples in which punishment is ever applied in cases of cruelty or neglect.  

      Over the last few years, with the help of the internet, I have seen; groups rallying together in cruelty cases bringing them to light and demanding justice; information about the laws and their enforcement being shared and an increase in awareness about the responsibilities of pet ownership. These are all important steps. One day maybe I will see Greece become a better and safer place for the dogs that live here. Until then…the battle continues.

This is me and Mouzi.  She was found wandering, thin, a mess and with plastic tie wrap around her neck..
 During surgery it was discovered that she had been shot with an airgun and the projectile had lodged in such a way,
attaching the uterus to her intestine.  She is now part of my pack.

K.K 
The views expressed in this blog are my own, based on my own experiences.